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Jays c-Jays review

A lightweight pair of on-ear headphones from Jays, the c-Jays are aiming for style, comfort and solid sound

from
£80.00

16 January 2009/6:00GMT

It’s easy to feel like your headphone options are limited to in-ear buds or giant, over-the-ear muffs, but there is a third way – on-ear cans.

These look to replicate the sound quality of larger headphones while cutting down on bulk, and Swedish company Jays has just made its debut lightweight pair.

Extra accessories

Going up against plenty of cheaper rivals from the likes of Sennheiser and AKG, the c-Jays come nicely packaged with a number of accessories.

The headphone cable comes in two parts allowing you to add an FM radio or volume controller should you feel the need. There are also adaptors for connecting to sockets on airplanes or for connecting two sets of ‘phones to one player.

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Elsewhere in the box you’ll find an adaptor for a 6.3mm headphone jack connection, while all these bits and bobs come inside a smart carry case.

Choice of fits

And there’s more: the c-Jays come with three sets of foam earphones – small, medium and large. The company claims not only the obvious changes to appearance and fit but also sonic discrepancies between the different options, too.

The headphones themselves are available in black or white, and sport a rather plain, uninspiring finish. But they certainly feel lightweight while managing to feel well made rather than flimsy at the same time.

Review continues after the break...

Lacking detail

We started with the small foam earphones and, as promised, there’s plenty of bass. Sadly, the soundstage lacks clarity and openness and the detail resolution isn’t what we’d expect for £80.

There’s plenty of punch and power, but busy, layered tracks find the headphones losing a touch of control and clarity.

Change to the mid-sized foam earphones and the sound does have a better balance, but we’re still left underwhelmed; some tracks lacked rhythm and insight, while suffering from scratchy, muddled treble frequencies.

Substandard sound

The largest, over-ear foam pad provides a comfortable if rather cumbersome fit, but it’s the quality of the sound that remains our key concern and these cans just don’t cut the mustard.

There are better ‘phones available for considerably less money, so we’re struggling to find reasons to recommend the Jays c-Jays.

Stuff says...

Jays c-Jays review

Stripped-down Swedish style and plenty of accessories, but the level of performance isn’t good enough for the money